Wednesday, December 30, 2015

The Irrawaddy Magazine

The Irrawaddy Magazine

Child Sex Abuse Cases Spark Community Outrage, Calls for Harsher Sentences

Posted: 30 Dec 2015 03:16 AM PST

Child rights activist Khin Than Htwe, second from right, pictured with a family she is providing support to in Moulmein. (Khin Than Htwe / Facebook)

Child rights activist Khin Than Htwe, second from right, pictured with a family she is providing support to in Moulmein. (Khin Than Htwe / Facebook)

CHIANG MAI, Thailand — After a number of recent high profile cases, campaigners have become increasingly strident in their demands for harsher punishments to be meted out to perpetrators in child sexual abuse cases.

The lack of effective judicial deterrent has been a source of outrage, with many appearing in court on sex abuse charges sentenced to prison terms of 12 months or less. Compounding the problem is a common pattern of denial by parents when asked to confront instances of child sexual abuse within their families, leaving victims vulnerable to future attacks.

In one recent example, a doctor working as an obstetrician and gynecologist in Rangoon told The Irrawaddy the case of a 7-year-old girl, who was brought to her clinic by her mother after an extended period of vaginal bleeding. The mother thought she had begun menstruating, but the checkup revealed the girl had been raped.

"But the mother could not believe it," she said, adding that parents often did not want to accept their children had been subjected to such a heinous crime.

Meanwhile, those subject to attacks suffer from lifelong trauma, chronic health problems, and in the worst cases, die from their injuries.

Not Safe with Neighbors

It remains customary for ordinary mothers and fathers in Burma to trust their neighbors with the care of their children, particularly in rural areas where older members of the community need to work the land.

Yet in almost all cases of child sex abuse, particularly those widely reported on in recent months, neighbors are the alleged perpetrators. Reported cases of immediate family members abusing their young siblings or children are also on the rise.

In two separate cases in Moulmein, a girl under the age of four and a five-year-old girl were sexually assaulted by their neighbors. Both perpetrators came before the same judge. Both men were immediately granted bail.

In one harrowing instance, a 14-year-old girl was abducted from her home in Mon State's Kyauktan village and taken to a house in the border town of Myawaddy, where she was shackled and raped repeatedly over four days. Her kidnapper remains at large despite her rescue.

In October and November, the rape of two girls aged four and eight in separate cases sparked an outburst of public anger in Sittwe. One of the perpetrators was serving as a soldier in the Burma Army, while the other had recently deserted. Both victims died from their injuries.

The perpetrator in one case was quickly handed over to a military tribunal, which quickly sentenced him to 12 months in prison. Following a riotous protest outside Sittwe's central police station, the accused is now before a civilian court.

Khin Than Htwe, a community worker in Moulmein, told The Irrawaddy the case of a young girl repeatedly raped by her older brothers in Mon State's Nyaung Gone village, who were sentenced to only five months' imprisonment.

"There is no protection for her. She had to live with her brothers again after that," she said.

Law Favors Culprits

Sexual abuse of young children are the most common rape cases, according to police records published in local media.

In Burma, children under 14 are afforded a wide range of legal protections under the Child Law, but there are little or no legal protections for children vulnerable to abuse. Aye Nu Sein, a Sittwe-based lawyer and vice-chair of the Arakan National Party (ANP), pointed out that there is no difference in charges or sentencing between those rapists who attack adults and those who sexually abuse children.

A handful of lawyers, politicians and activists have called for legal reform to increase sentences for those who engage in child sexual abuse, but so far, attempts to legislate harsher punishments for perpetrators have failed.

Part of the reason for the deadlock could be attributed to the demands of the more strident campaigners, including a concerted push to mandate the death penalty, a demand from which incumbent lawmakers have quietly recoiled.

Outgoing lawmaker Thein Nyunt of the New National Democracy Party has spent years campaigning for an increase in prison sentences and the imposition of capital punishment for child sex abusers, a view he reiterated to The Irrawaddy.

“There have been many things we have done to prevent sexual assault of children, but cases have increased," he claimed. "We must prevent it by trying to put fear in the perpetrators. Therefore capital punishment should be imposed. One punishment could prevent at least 20,000 children from being sexually assaulted."

Thein Nyunt's views appear to be gaining traction. Kyaut Sein, a social activist helping the families of the victims in Sittwe, is outraged at the lenient sentence handed recently handed down by the military court. Echoing widespread sentiment in the town, she agreed that perpetrators guilty of child sexual abuse should be subjected to capital punishment.

"The death penalty should be given to those rapists, to prevent further rapes against the children," she said.

Lawyer Robert San Aung, noted for his involvement as defense counsel in a number of high profile human rights cases, agreed that execution was a just punishment for the crime, citing the need for a strong deterrent to protect Burma's "stability".

"As cases of rape against young children are on the increase, harsh punishment is desperately needed," he told The Irrawaddy. "It seems we have to accept capital punishment. The more the increase in the child sexual assault, the more it will impact on the stability of the country."

Others, while conceding the need for stronger punishments, stopped short of supporting mandatory capital punishment, saying that more focus was needed on prevention mechanisms and awareness.

"The death penalty is a strong word, said Htoot May, an ANP member recently elected to an Upper House seat in Arakan State. "We need to protect our children, and we need stronger laws to do that."

Khin Oo Tha contributed to this report.

The post Child Sex Abuse Cases Spark Community Outrage, Calls for Harsher Sentences appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Govt to Reconsider Latest Car Import Policy

Posted: 30 Dec 2015 03:08 AM PST

Cars travel through a street market in Rangoon. (Photo: The Irrawaddy)

Cars travel through a street market in Rangoon. (Photo: The Irrawaddy)

RANGOON — In light of mounting objections, the Burma government will reconsider part of its plan to change, once again, the country's car import policy.

Zaw Htay, director of the President's Office, announced on his Facebook page following a meeting with President Thein Sein on Wednesday that industry-wide discontent with the new policy has prompted renegotiation with relevant departments.

He added that the Ministry of Commerce will give particular consideration to imported cars that have licenses issued by the ministry and cars that are already on their way to ports in Burma.

The ministry made the controversial announcement on Dec. 15, stating that the old policy would expire on Dec. 24 and the new one would take effect from Jan. 1.

The new policy states that private passenger vehicles are the only type of automobiles manufactured between 2006 and 2013 allowed for import. In addition, buses, trucks and other vehicles must be manufactured between 2014 and 2016 to gain import approval. The two groups have distinct permits, with importers required to pay taxes according to the vehicle's list value.

Soe Tun, chairman of the Myanmar Automobile Dealers Association, said that there have been policy inconsistencies between the Ministry of Commerce and the Department of Transportation since the new car import policy was rolled out, including their handling of cars imported in 2015.

"The Department of Transportation should issue licenses to cars imported in 2015 and do so for these cars again in 2016, because these cars will not all arrive at the same time," he said.

"However, the department said it won't issue licenses for these cars, which is a major problem. That's why we sent a letter of complaint to the government."

Since the quasi-civilian government came to power in 2011, Burma's car import policy has been changed some 10 times, causing ongoing adjustment issues for many imported car showrooms, individual import dealers and other related business.

"The transportation department has said that it won't take responsibility [for policy challenges] and to send imported cars back to Japan. This is just really irresponsible," Soe Tun said.

He added, "There are already many imported cars inside our ports waiting to receive licenses. What we want is to hold issuing a license for them until next year, at which point the new policy would be applied to these cars, too."

South Korean, Japanese, American, German and Chinese car dealers have recently opened showrooms in Rangoon. Yet Soe Tun said that only 1,000 new cars have been imported out of the estimated 300,000 to 400,000 brought into to Burma.

Ko Tun Myat, a private car dealer, echoed frustrations with Burma's ever-changing car policy.

"Regulations change every year. How can we possibly follow them? We've spent a lot of time trying to obtain import licenses for cars that haven't arrived yet, and then the [transportation] department refuses to issue them," he said.

"What are we supposed to do? The government needs to take responsibility for its policy."

The Irrawaddy called the Ministry of Commerce for additional information, but Toe Aung Myint, permanent secretary of the ministry, could not be reached for comment.

The post Govt to Reconsider Latest Car Import Policy appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Ma Ba Tha Supporters Threaten to ‘Skin’ Reporters

Posted: 30 Dec 2015 01:39 AM PST

Protesters hold posters and shout as they protest in support of Zaw Lin and Wai Phyo two Burmese migrant workers in Thailand, in front of the Thai embassy in Rangoon on Dec. 25. (Photo: Myo Min Soe / The Irrawaddy)

Protesters hold posters and shout as they protest in support of Zaw Lin and Wai Phyo two Burmese migrant workers in Thailand, in front of the Thai embassy in Rangoon on Dec. 25. (Photo: Myo Min Soe / The Irrawaddy)

RANGOON — Buddhist nationalist group Ma Ba Tha and anti-Muslim firebrands greeted reporters at a protest on Tuesday with more inflammatory rhetoric and threats.

The protest, held at Bosein Mhan in Rangoon, was against the death sentence handed down to Zaw Lin and Wai Phyo, two Thailand-based Burmese migrant workers accused of killing British backpackers David Miller and Hannah Witheridge on Koh Tao in September 2014.

Journalists from different media outlets were covering the rally, allegedly led by Ma Ba Tha and the Myanmar National Network, when Ma Ba Tha supporters pulled a boy onto the field for supposedly disturbing the protest. Several journalists were ready with their cameras.

"Beat the reporters, skin those guys," one of the supporters said.

On Wednesday, several private newspapers reported that a minor quarrel erupted at the Ma Ba Tha demonstration and that one of the attendees attempted to attack journalists with a brick, though other rally participants were able to restrain him.

Ma Ba Tha supporters marched from Bosein Mhan to Shwedagon Pagoda, after which they marched to the Thai embassy in order to deliver an open letter.

Protests have flashed and flared in Rangoon since Friday, the day after a Koh Samui court sentenced Zaw Lin and Wai Phyo to death.

The post Ma Ba Tha Supporters Threaten to 'Skin' Reporters appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Koh Tao Verdict: Lingering Questions as Protests Continue

Posted: 30 Dec 2015 12:04 AM PST

Protesters outside the Thai embassy in Rangoon on Dec. 25. (Photo: Soe Zeya Tun / Reuters)

Protesters outside the Thai embassy in Rangoon on Dec. 25. (Photo: Soe Zeya Tun / Reuters)

CHIANG MAI, Thailand — On Dec. 24, the Koh Samui Provincial Court sentenced Wai Phyo and Zaw Lin to death for the murders of British tourists Hannah Witheridge and David Miller on the Thai resort island of Koh Tao.

Thai journalists, forensic experts, rights activists and social media activists have highlighted numerous flaws in the police investigation, and doubts over the guilt of the Burmese migrant duo have sparked protests in various locations across Burma in the days since.

Military chief Snr-Gen Min Aung Hlaing has joined Buddhist monks, Burma's envoy to Thailand and the Myamar National Human Rights Commission in questioning the evidence used to convict the pair.

On the other hand, at least one of the victims' families believes the verdict was justified by the "overwhelming evidence" of Wai Phyo and Zaw Lin's guilt.

"We came to realize that the [Thai] police investigation and the forensic work performed was not the so-called shambles it was made out to be," said Michael Miller, brother of David, reading from a statement on behalf of his family on the courtroom steps soon after the Burmese men were condemned to death.

While the murders of Witheridge and Miller garnered an avalanche of press coverage in the United Kingdom, British authorities have been circumspect in their comments on the case. A UK Foreign Office spokesman was quoted in the Guardian shortly after the verdict, reiterating the British government's opposition to the death penalty. A reference to the murders of Miller and Witheridge remains on the government's travel advisory website.

A British police delegation visited the island late last year, later telling the families of the deceased that the evidence against the accused was overwhelming. Migrant activist Andy Hall, who assisted with and raised funds for the defense of the accused, claimed that the UK investigators had not considered allegations the pair were tortured into their confession. A UK High Court judge later blocked the release of the delegation's full report, not without first stating his misgivings.

"The UK government role was disappointing and concerning," Hall told The Irrawaddy, also stating that the defense team respected the opinion of the Miller family while disagreeing with their opinion of the investigation, trial and verdict.

Hall added that the failure to provide a full and prompt disclosure of all information relating to the case may have led the UK government into a passive breach of its protocols on overseas criminal cases involving the death penalty.

Several other observers have suggested that the British police delegation took representations made to them by Thai investigators on trust, rather than jeopardizing the smooth bilateral relationship to combat drug trafficking, smuggling and terrorism.

With Zaw Lin and Wai Phyo's death sentence, the pair have been transferred to a high security prison in Nakhon Si Thammarat. They are expected to lodge an appeal in the coming weeks. Whatever really happened on the night of the murder, and no matter what the outcome of any future cases, doubts over the pair's guilt are never going to subside.

 But the facts remain.

Credible accusations that the accused were tortured while in the custody of Thai police were not considered by the court or the Scotland Yard investigation.

The initial investigation linked members of a powerful local family as suspects, before the officer in charge was suddenly transferred away from the island.

Sean Mcanna, A Scottish tourist who knew Miller and was on the island the night of the murders, claimed that local organized crime figures were conspiring to lay blame for crime at his feet, shortly before he fled Koh Tao.

Dr. Pornthip Rojanasunan, a forensics expert and head of that country's Central Institute of Forensic Science, has criticized the Thai police investigation for relying on DNA evidence without properly documenting the chain of custody—in other words, failing to demonstrate that the DNA samples had not been tampered with. Additionally, the DNA samples on the murder weapon did not match those of the accused.

As has become de rigeur since the coup of May 2014, the Thai junta has blamed widespread criticism of the investigation, trial and verdict on "instigators" from the ranks of its political opponents, including most recently the Pheu Thai party of deposed PM Yingluck Sinawatra.

At a press briefing on Monday, junta leader Prayuth Chan-ocha, testily hit back at critics, saying there would be no fresh examination of the initial police investigation.

"They have the right to appeal, right? Laws all over the world have this," he said. "Or should Thai law not have this? Is it the case that we should release all people when pressured?"At the same press conference, Police Maj-Gen Piyaphan Pingmuang suggested the protests were opportunistic, noting that no protests had arisen over 126 other murder cases involving Burmese migrant workers in the past year.

Perhaps not. Certainly this case has attracted more attention because of the deaths of British nationals—but if the investigation had been conducted professionally, and if the evidence against Wai Phyo and Zaw Lin was overwhelming, it is hard to imagine protests of the magnitude and intensity as what has been seen in Rangoon in the last week.

The post Koh Tao Verdict: Lingering Questions as Protests Continue appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Foreign Minister Calls in Thai Envoy for Koh Tao Talks

Posted: 29 Dec 2015 10:24 PM PST

Protesters hold posters and shout as they protest in support of Zaw Lin and Wai Phyo outside the Thai embassy in Rangoon, Dec. 25. (Photo: Soe Zeya Tun / Reuters)

Protesters hold posters and shout as they protest in support of Zaw Lin and Wai Phyo outside the Thai embassy in Rangoon, Dec. 25. (Photo: Soe Zeya Tun / Reuters)

Burma's Foreign Minister Wunna Maung Lwin met with Thai ambassador Pisanu Suvanajata on in Naypyidaw on Tuesday to discuss the recent death sentence handed down to two Burmese migrant workers in the Koh Tao murder case.

Wunna Maung Lwin told the Thai envoy that the Burmese government would assist with the appeal of Wai Phyo and Zaw Lin in accordance with the laws of the Thai judicial system, according to the Ministry of Information.

He said that he did not want the case to impact negatively on other Burmese migrants living in Thailand, and wanted a commitment from the Thai government to protect the Burmese community from harm.

During the discussion, Wunna Maung Lwin told Pisanu that the Burmese government was working with the Burmese embassy in Bangkok and the Lawyers Council of Thailand on the appeal and sought the cooperation of the Thai government and foreign ministry. He also requested that the Thai government carried out the appeal in accordance with the law and in keeping with the longstanding bilateral friendship between the two countries.

The post Foreign Minister Calls in Thai Envoy for Koh Tao Talks appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

China, Taiwan Open First Hotline in Tension Reducing Measure

Posted: 29 Dec 2015 09:23 PM PST

An activist in Taipei protests against the Singapore meeting between Taiwan's President Ma Ying-jeou and China's President Xi Jinping, Nov. 7. (Photo: Pichi Chuang / Reuters)

An activist in Taipei protests against the Singapore meeting between Taiwan’s President Ma Ying-jeou and China’s President Xi Jinping, Nov. 7. (Photo: Pichi Chuang / Reuters)

BEIJING/TAIPEI — China and Taiwan began operating the first telephone hotline between the two nations on Wednesday, set up as a confidence building and tension reducing measure, with senior officials exchanging New Year’s greetings.

The step was agreed during a historic meeting between Chinese President Xi Jinping and Taiwan President Ma Ying-jeou in Singapore last month.

Ma Xiaoguang, spokesman for China’s Taiwan Affairs Office, said the first call was between Zhang Zhijun, director of the Taiwan Affairs Office, and Andrew Hsia, head of Taiwan’s Mainland Affairs Council, who wished each other happy New Year.

Zhang and Hsia also talked about the important achievements both sides had made in the past year in promoting the peaceful development of relations, spokesman Ma said.

Taiwan’s Mainland Affairs Council confirmed the call took place, but did not immediately provide any other details.

Defeated Nationalist forces fled to Taiwan after losing a civil war with the Communists in 1949. Beijing has never renounced the use of force to bring what it deems a renegade province under its control.

Relations have improved rapidly since Ma Ying-jeou became Taiwan president in 2008, and the two have signed a series of landmark trade and tourism deals.

Still, deep suspicions remain. China reacted angrily earlier this month at the latest US plans to sell Taiwan weapons.

China is also looking warily at January’s presidential elections in Taiwan, which are likely to return the independence-leaning opposition Democratic Progressive Party to power.

China says it will never countenance an independent Taiwan.

The post China, Taiwan Open First Hotline in Tension Reducing Measure appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Thai Military Expands Its Powers with Bangkok ‘Black Site’

Posted: 29 Dec 2015 09:13 PM PST

A soldier walks outside the 11th Army Circle base in Bangkok, Thailand on Tuesday. (Photo: Athit Perawongmetha / Reuters)

A soldier walks outside the 11th Army Circle base in Bangkok, Thailand on Tuesday. (Photo: Athit Perawongmetha / Reuters)

BANGKOK — When Bangkok lawyer Winyat Chatmontree was allowed to meet his client in detention at a Bangkok army base, Pratin Chankate shuffled in blindfolded and shackled by military guards.

At their second meeting Pratin, a former police officer charged with plotting to attack senior government officials who was officially in civilian custody, was taken away after five minutes by soldiers, Winyat said.

Pratin is detained in a new facility established by the Thai junta to hold people deemed threats to national security, in what lawyers and rights groups say is an unprecedented expansion of the military’s control over the criminal justice system.

“The military is running most of the process, from interrogation to building cases,” said Winyat. “Then they hand it over to police to continue what they started.”

The authorities say the facility, hidden behind the low walls and trimmed hedges of the 11th Army Circle base near Bangkok’s old city, is necessary for the efficient investigation of major threats to the kingdom.

The government and army declined to comment on the facility, but the corrections department hosted a guided visit to the site for journalists in early December.

Witthaya Suriyawong, the head of the department, rejected accusations that the jail is a military facility in civilian garb. While soldiers act as guards, the jail itself is administered by eight corrections staff, he said.

“We are the prison that serves the military court,” said Witthaya. “In principle, police do the investigation.”

As reporters entered the bare cells, detainees sat cross-legged on the floor, facing silently away from visitors.

The prison was needed to allow investigators easier and longer access to detainees, Witthaya said.

Junta Rule

Even under martial law, imposed after the army seized power in May 2014 and lifted in April, lawyers say the military had mostly respected the legal requirement to either hand suspects over to the civilian authorities or release them after seven days.

But the new jail, established within the military base under a decree issued on Sept. 11, is run by the civilian Department of Corrections. That means detainees can be held there for up to three months.

Rights groups say this is little more than a legal fig leaf for a facility aimed at keeping suspects under army control as they are railroaded through a system of military courts that have been used to try some civilians since the coup.

“Legally, this place is under the jurisdiction of the corrections department, but in practice it is administered by the military,” Sunai Phasuk, a researcher at Human Rights Watch, told Reuters.

Lawyers for detainees say they are routinely denied access to their clients and, in some cases, have themselves been subject to intimidation.

“It’s fair to call this facility a ‘black site’ of the Thai military,” Sunai said, referring to the term for prisons used in the past by the United States to hold terrorism suspects outside the criminal justice system.

'Serving the Military Court'

Witthaya confirmed that detainees were blindfolded and shackled when moved around the base—a measure he said was necessary to prevent escapes.

Shackling is sometimes used in the Thai criminal justice system when prisoners are being moved between locations, such as for court appearances, but lawyer Winyat said it was rare within jails and that blindfolding was an extraordinary measure.

So far 10 suspects have been held at the jail, including two Chinese Uighurs charged over an August bombing in Bangkok that killed 20 people.

Also held are six Thais accused in high-profile cases of insulting the monarchy, corruption, and plotting to attack junta officials at a Dec. 11 cycling event. Two more have died in custody.

Prakrom Warunprapa, a police major charged with falsely claiming royal connections to raise money, was found hanging in his cell on Oct. 23, according to authorities.

Suriyan Sujaritpalawong, a celebrity fortuneteller known as “Soothsayer Yong” arrested over the same case, died two weeks later of a blood infection, officials said.

'It's Not Safe'

Lawyers for five detainees told Reuters that soldiers appeared to run the site and were heavily involved in interrogations.

Winyat said both Pratin and another client in the same case, Nattapol Nawanle, were interrogated at other military facilities before being transferred to the jail. Pratin says he was beaten, he said.

Witthaya said corrections department staff had examined detainees and found no signs of mistreatment. Lawyers said no detainees had complained of beatings once within the jail.

But Benjarat Meetian, a lawyer who represents three detainees held in the jail, said she was followed by police from the base after her first visit on Nov. 30, and was later kept at a police office for four hours, where she was interrogated.

Police have filed five charges against Benjarat, including defamation, after she refused to withdraw a complaint she made over charges against another of her clients.

“I can’t (go back to the base). It’s not safe for me,” she said.

Currently, the jail is expanding. Reuters journalists saw the construction of six new cells, in addition to the three already in use, during the press visit the base.

The facility would be open “as long as the prison is needed”, corrections chief Witthaya said.

The post Thai Military Expands Its Powers with Bangkok 'Black Site' appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

  Relief, Anger, Indifference over Korea-Japan Sex Slave Deal

Posted: 29 Dec 2015 08:53 PM PST

Former comfort woman Gil Won-ok is helped by a volunteer as she heads to a protest demanding an apology and compensation from the Japanese government in Seoul, South Korea, July 22. (Photo: Kim Kyung-Hoon / Reuters)

Former comfort woman Gil Won-ok is helped by a volunteer as she heads to a protest demanding an apology and compensation from the Japanese government in Seoul, South Korea, July 22. (Photo: Kim Kyung-Hoon / Reuters)

SEOUL — There’s relief among South Korean and Japanese diplomats after the two countries announced an “irreversible” settlement of a decades-long standoff over Korean women forced into sexual slavery by Japan’s World War II military. But activists and many of the elderly victims were furious on Tuesday.

Both sides compromised in Monday’s surprise deal, so neither got everything it wanted. Nationalists in Japan are angry over Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s apology. Some South Koreans say President Park Geun-hye settled for far too little money—about $8 million—and that Japan still hasn’t taken legal responsibility for atrocities during its colonial occupation of the Korean Peninsula from 1910 to 1945.

But the apparent finality of the deal—both sides called the matter “resolved finally and irreversibly,” if faithfully implemented—has been largely accepted so far, after decades in which the issue ruined ties between the two powerful Northeast Asian democracies.

Historians say tens of thousands of women from around Asia, many of them Korean, were sent to front-line military brothels to provide sex to Japanese soldiers. Only 46 known former Korean sex slaves, most in their late 80s and 90s, are still alive, and with time running out and with frustration growing, the deal is seen by many here as the best to be had from a hawkish Abe government.

“Insisting that Japan take legal responsibility is the same thing as saying we don’t want to resolve the issue of comfort women,” said Jin Chang Soo, an analyst at the Sejong Institute think tank, who called the deal an important step forward.

There’s also a recognition that Washington, which is Seoul’s military protector and ally, has pushed more forcefully for a detente between the neighbors, which together play host to 80,000 US troops and are key bulwarks as China rises and North Korea threatens.

The reaction Tuesday among people in both countries was low key: a sparsely attended anti-Japan rally in Seoul, a few dozen right wingers in Tokyo, but little media or public outcry, and nothing like the thousands who choked Seoul’s streets in outrage in 2008 after a beef deal with the US raised fears of mad cow disease.

The story’s popularity on South Korean news sites was surpassed Tuesday by other domestic stories, including a business tycoon’s revelation of a love child and his plans to divorce the daughter of a former president.

In the sex slave deal, Abe expressed “his most sincere apologies and remorse” to the women. Japan also agreed to contribute 1 billion yen ($8.3 million) for a foundation to help support the victims. The money will come from the national budget, not private sources, a distinction Tokyo has resisted in the past.

Japan, however, doesn’t consider the 1 billion yen as compensation, saying such issues were settled in a 1965 treaty that restored diplomatic ties and was accompanied by more than $800 million in economic aid and loans from Tokyo to Seoul.

Seoul, meanwhile, said it will refrain from criticizing Japan over the issue and will try to resolve Japan’s grievance over a statue of a girl representing victims of sexual slavery that sits in front of the Japanese Embassy in downtown Seoul.

At a care home in Seoul where some former wartime sex slaves live, senior Foreign Ministry official Lim Sung-nam was interrupted and chastised by an elderly victim as he apologized for failing to tell the women about Seoul’s consultations with Tokyo in advance.

“Japan’s Abe should say that what his country did was illegal and beg for forgiveness in front of reporters,” said another victim, Kim Bok-dong, 88.

One of the women said Monday that she would accept the deal reluctantly because she knew the South Korean government made efforts to settle the issue.

In Tokyo, about 180 members of a rightist group, Ganbare Nippon, chanted, “Your act of selling out the country is unforgivable,” and “Retract it!” One wore a placard saying, “The military use of comfort women is a fiction by Korea.”

A handful of people gathered in Seoul near the statue of the girl representing sex slaves.

“We want to see the prime minister kneel down before this girl’s statue and apologize like West German Chancellor Willy Brandt did at the memorial” for Nazi victims in Poland, Kim Won Wung, a former lawmaker, said at the small rally.

The post   Relief, Anger, Indifference over Korea-Japan Sex Slave Deal appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

In Burma’s Dry Zone, a Unique Forest and Deer Species under Threat

Posted: 29 Dec 2015 06:51 PM PST

A small museum showcases some stuffed versions of the roughly 1,500 species of wildlife in Chatthin sanctuary. (Photo: Htet Khaung Linn / Myanmar Now)

A small museum showcases some stuffed versions of the roughly 1,500 species of wildlife in Chatthin sanctuary. (Photo: Htet Khaung Linn / Myanmar Now)

CHATTHIN WILDLIFE SANCTUARY — In the heart of Burma's central dry zone there are two protected forest areas that are home to word's largest populations of endangered Eld's deer.

Chatthin in Sagaing Region and Shwesettaw in Magwe Region are two long-established wildlife sanctuaries with a rare type of dry forest home to the species—called rucervus eldii or 'Golden Deer' in Burmese. But during a recent visit to Chatthin, I learned that the forest and its species are under threat from poaching and encroachment, while authorities struggle to stave off the sanctuary's decline.

"We used to patrol around when we heard gunshots and would arrest the hunters. However, they are now using traps made of steel wires. So we cannot hear any sound when the deer hunting is going on and cannot make arrests," Win Zaw Lun, a forestry officer at Chattin Sanctuary, told me.

"Locals trap and kill the deer for a small amount of money. They do not have the knowledge to understand that killing these rare animals is a great loss," he said. Win Zaw Lun explained that the roughly $80 villagers can earn from capturing a Golden Deer represents a large sum compared to the few dollars per day they receive from doing farm work.

Chatthin was established in 1941 and covers roughly 103 square miles and parts of Kantbalu and Kawlin townships. The sanctuary employs 34 staff and is reached by a bumpy two-hour motorbike ride from Chatthin town.

A large picture of a pair of Eld's Deer welcomes visitors at the gate and a small museum showcases some stuffed versions of the roughly 1,500 species of wildlife in the park, including monkeys, birds, various deer, wild pig, wild dog and a number of unique insects.

Its forests are dominated indaing (dipterocarpus) plants, as well as teak and other hardwood trees.

This makes for an ideal habitat for Eld's deer, said Myint Myint Soe, a forestry officer at the sanctuary.

"Foreign experts said Chatthin Wildlife Sanctuary is a more suitable habitat for Golden Deer than its counterpart Shwesettaw in Magwe Region, although the latter has more deer," she said. "The number of this endangered species is declining faster in Chatthin."

According to official figures, the number of deer in the park fell an estimated 50 percent since 1995, when there were thought to be some 3,000 animals in Chatthin.

The decline mirrors a wider loss of forests and wildlife habitats across Burma that has gathered pace since the country's political opening up began in 2011. A report published in March 2015 said that forest conversion for commercial agriculture is accelerating at an "unprecedented rate" in Burma, putting the country's biodiversity at risk.

During my visit, I joined park officials and we searched for the shy deer, but all we could see was a few hoof marks and a brief rustling of bushes where they were believed to be hiding.

Three villages are located inside the sanctuary and some 20 villages straddle its edges. For many locals in this impoverished area the forest and its resources are an essential source of income that supplements their farm work.

Villagers are aware of its protected status but have traditionally collected firewood, bamboo shoots and other food and non-food forest products in Chatthin. Some will sneak in to poach its wildlife with home-made guns or traps.

Officials told me that during my visit a patrol had just found three women digging for the roots of wild palm trees and let them off with a warning. The edible roots are sought after in China and fetch about $1 per 2.5 kilo on the local market.

Authorities said they lack funding to carry out programs to educate villagers on the importance of conservation, or to provide them with alternative sources of income. The laws for protecting the sanctuary do not stipulate clear penalties for those breaching its rules, so criminal laws are sometimes used against poachers, a measure that park officials say is too severe.

"We conduct educational programs, asking them to surrender their handmade guns while pardoning them from holding these weapons. However, police insist on taking action against illegal possession of these weapons. Such procedures make the locals reluctant to hand over their guns," said Myint Myint Soe.

She said more emphasis should be put on fostering understanding of Chatthin’s unique ecological value among locals, while further cooperation with authorities and alternative livelihood programs should also be supported.

Myint Myint Soe said conservation programs with such a focus would offer the best way of protecting Chattin's natural heritage, but this would require more funding.

Having seen the Chattin sanctuary and the role it plays as important refuge for the Eld's deer, I can only agree and hope that Burma's government or international conservation organisations can protect it for future generations.

This article first appeared at Myanmar Now.

The post In Burma's Dry Zone, a Unique Forest and Deer Species under Threat appeared first on The Irrawaddy.
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